Reports: £60m star wants to join Man Utd on £21m-a-year deal despite Chelsea offer

Raphael Varane wants to join Manchester United on a mega £400,000-a-week deal after deciding to leave Real Madrid this summer, according to the Independent.

Varane has been at Madrid for 10 years having joined from Lyon in 2011 and has been one of the best centre-backs in Europe over the past few seasons. The Frenchman has made 360 appearances for Madrid and helped the Spanish giants win a whole host of honours including 4 Champions Leagues and 3 La Liga titles.

However, Varane’s future at the Bernabeu is in serious doubt as he has just one year remaining on his current contract and The Athletic reported earlier this week that the defender has snubbed an offer of a two-year extension.

Real Madrid are now increasingly resigned to losing the 28-year-old as they know they’ll have to cash-in this summer rather than risk losing him for nothing in 12 months time if he doesn’t sign a new deal soon.

The situation has alerted a number of Europe’s top clubs and the Mirror cite a report from the print version of Spanish newspaper ABC that claims Man Utd, Chelsea and PSG have all put forward offers to the defender.

Chelsea are reportedly in the market for another centre-back as Thomas Tuchel knows he needs a long-term replacement for Thiago Silva – who turns 37 this year – and it appears the Blues are keen on luring Varane to Stamford Bridge.

However, Chelsea could be set to miss out as the Independent claims Varane wants to join Manchester United after deciding it’s time to seek a new challenge away from Madrid at this stage in his career.

The newspaper says Varane is United’s top defensive target as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looks to bring in a world class partner for Harry Maguire amid ongoing concerns over Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly.

However, according to the Independent, Varane is demanding a contract worth £400,000-a-week – which works out at nearly £21m per year – and United could be reluctant to meet those demands given they’ve been stung in the past by offering huge deals to the likes of Alexis Sanchez.

The Manchester giants may make an exception to sign a world class centre-back in his prime but even if United do meet Varane’s wage demands, they’ll still have to agree a fee with Madrid and the Daily Mail claims they value the player at around £60m.

That sounds like a lot of money for a defender who’s about to enter the final year of his contract and is refusing to sign an extension so no doubt Man Utd will try to drive that asking price down during any negotiations.

We’ll have to wait and see how things develop but any potential move is unlikely to happen any time soon as Varane is currently away at the Euro’s where he’s helped France book a date with Switzerland in the last-16.